Overview
To evaluate the potential usefulness of 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT for the diagnosis, inflammation evaluation and prognosis prediction in spondyloarthritis.
Description
Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease characterized by inflammatory back pain, enthesitis, dactylitis, and the formation of syndesmophytes, all of which significantly affect a patient's healthy functioning and general quality of life. Prevalence of underlying malignancy is high in patients with SpA. Radiographic sacroiliitis became a crucial finding in the diagnosis and classification of patients.
68Ga-FAPI has been developed as tracers specific for fibroblast-activation protein (FAP), which is overexpressed in activated fibroblasts in various type of cancers and autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, IgG4-related diseases and interstitial lung diseases.
Recently the investigators have published articles of the application of 68Ga-FAPI in IgG4-related disease and rheumatoid arthritis, which showed it was more sensitive than FDG in detecting a certain type of inflammation. Increased 68Ga-FAPI Uptake in ankylosing spondylitis in a patient with rectal cancer has also been reported in a case report, indicating the potential utility of FAP-targeted PET/CT imaging for diagnosis and disease assessment in spondyloarthritis.
Thus, this prospective study is going to investigate utility of 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT in diagnosis of spondyloarthritis as well as inflammation assessment in joints including the sacroiliac (SI) joints, spine and peripheral joints. Also, this study aims to investigate potential utility of 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT in predicting treatment response and disease prognosis such as formation of syndesmophytes and erosive changes.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- A diagnosis of SpA according to the ASAS (Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society) classification criteria for SpA.
- Adult men or women 18 and ≤ 65 years of age at the time of signing the informed consent (ICF).
- participants who were able to provide informed consent (signed by participant or legal representative) and assent according to the guidelines of the Clinical Research Ethics Committee.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Pregnancy;
- Breastfeeding;
- known allergy against FAPI;
- any medical condition that in the opinion of the investigator may significantly interfere with study compliance.